Joe Root breaks Rahul Dravid record: Check full list of players with most catches in Test cricket
Former Indian skipper, Dravid, had 210 grabs in 164 Tests to his name. Root achieved this milestone in his 156th Test. Standing third on the list of players with the most catches is former Sri Lankan captain Mahela Jayawardene. One of the safest close-in fielders of his time, Jayawardene has 205 catches from 149 Tests.
Among active cricketers, Steve Smith is the second-best with 200 grabs from 118 Tests. He is joint-fourth alongside the South African great Jacques Kallis. Kallis picked 200 catches in 166 Test matches. These five players are the only ones to have grabbed 200 or more catches in Test cricket.
Root's 76.8 per cent catching efficiency makes him the sixth-best catcher (efficiency-wise) among fielders to take 75+ catches in Test cricket. Kane Williamson is the safest fielder as his 76 grabs come with an efficiency of 88.3 76 per cent.
But taking catch after catch in training is barely half of the story. The easy bit of the drill is knowing the catch is coming. In a Test, it can be hours or days. Standing, crouching and waiting, hoping for the edge and having the concentration to be ready when it comes.
Speaking on the art of taking catches and what does it take to be a good fielder, Root said, 'You're training your body, over and over again, that when the ball comes, you're in the right position, lined up nicely, and staying nice and relaxed,' he said to BBC.
'It might be two days before you take a catch, but if it's drilled into you, time and time again, it makes it that little bit easier. It takes that panic out of it. There are situations where the conditions are in the bowlers' favour and you feel very much in the game the whole time. You are naturally in a very good headspace to catch. There are other times when it comes out of nowhere, catching you off guard,' he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Indian Express
WATCH: Radha Yadav takes stunning catch at Edgbaston, brings back memories of Harleen Deol's viral catch from 2021
Radha Yadav, arguably the best fielder in this current Indian set-up, pulled off a blinder in the last over of the fifth T20I between England and India. One of the standout aspects of India's 3-2 T20I series win against England was their much-improved fielding. On Saturday night in Birmingham, however, they were having a mixed outing. Ground fielding was alright, but a couple of chances were already put down, there were some lazy moments and what not. But not from Radha Yadav, who was once again electric on the field. And in the final over of a tense run-chase, she pulled off an absolute blinder in what would go down as one of the best catches by an Indian fielder this year. 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛!! 🤯 Radha Yadav takes a stunning catch to dismiss Amy Jones and fuel India's winning chase! 🌟 Watch #ENGWvINDW 5️⃣th T20I Highlights on #SonyLIV 📲 — Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) July 12, 2025 ALSO READ | Last-ball thriller at Edgbaston as India miss late chance to script a come-from-behind win On strike was Amy Jones, the wicketkeeper batter, with England needing 5 off 4 balls. Arundhati Reddy was the bowler. Jones moved across the stumps, anticipating a delivery outside off, and she went for a slog sweep. She didn't get the timing right but it seemed the ball was going to fall in front of the fielder at deep midwicket. But that fielder was Radha, who sprinted in a few yards and put in a full-length dive to take a sensational catch. The third umpire needed a few replays to check if she grounded the ball while completing the dive but it was clear she had held on to it cleanly. It put England under pressure but India couldn't force a tie in the end as the hosts clinched a last-ball thriller. India rode on Shafali Verma's quick-fire 75 to score 167 for 7, a target which England chased down with five wickets to spare eventually, as the visitors missed a golden chance to force a Super Over. A fantastic piece of fielding 👏 We finish our innings on 177/7 Scorecard & Videos: — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 9, 2021 'Wow, Radha Yadav I think that is. She has been the best on show for India throughout this series. What a time to pull off a special catch that is,' former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull said on air. Next to him was England pacer Kate Cross on commentary duties, and she remembered Harleen Deol's stunner that went viral around the world in July 2021. Incidentally, the batter was once again Amy Jones that day, when Harleen pulled off a special effort at long off, parrying the ball over, then diving back into the playing field from beyond the boundary line.
India Today
38 minutes ago
- India Today
Tim Southee takes cheeky massage dig at Shubman Gill amid Crawley's delay drama
The third day of the Lord's Test ended in chaos and sarcasm as England opener Zak Crawley used every second possible to avoid facing a second over before stumps. But what truly lit up the post-match narrative was Tim Southee's subtle jab at Indian skipper Shubman Gill — for complaining about time-wasting while having done something similar a day scores level at 387 apiece and six minutes left on the clock, India hoped to bowl two overs at the England openers before stumps. But Crawley took his time — adjusting to sight screen issues and then claiming discomfort after a ball struck his glove, despite no visible damage. Jasprit Bumrah responded with sarcastic clapping, and Shubman Gill, fired up and vocal, could be heard telling Crawley to 'be brave and bat.'advertisementEngland vs India 3rd Test Day 3: Highlights The events led to a heated altercation between England openers Crawley and Ben Duckett as the entire team surrounded the two men in the middle. Following the end of the day's play, Tim Southee gave his take on the incident and said that it was good to see the energy from both teams at the end of the day's play.'It's good, always exciting to see both sides animated towards the sure what they were complaining about — Gill was lying down getting a massage in the middle of the day yesterday,' Southee said, referencing Gill's on-field treatment on Day 2 that had briefly halted Test match is firmly hanging in the balance after both teams levelled their scores in the first the Lord's Test heads into Day 4, the contest remains finely poised. But all eyes will be on whether Shubman Gill's Indian side returns to the field with the same fiery intent — and if Zak Crawley finds himself on the receiving end of that intensity early in the first session.- EndsMust Watch
Indian Express
38 minutes ago
- Indian Express
IND vs ENG, 5th T20I: Last-ball thriller at Edgbaston as India miss late chance to script a come-from-behind win
The final scoreline of the five-match T20I series read 3-2 in favour of India against England; a series win which left Harmanpreet Kaur proud of her team, but in reflection, India could have won all five matches. If their defeat at The Oval couple of matches earlier was a case of a comfortable run-chase gone wrong at the final stages, they nearly flipped that script on Saturday night at Edgbaston in Birmingham. 167/7 in their 20 overs, India saw the hosts get off to an absolute flier in the second half, thanks to a century opening stand, but slowly started to pull things back in the second half. Eventually, England needed 6 off the last over to win the consolation match but Arundhati Reddy's accurate bowling and a stunning catch from Radha Yadav made it a thrilling finish. England needed 1 off the last ball, and Sophie Ecclestone tapped the ball to mid on, took off for a single as she would. But Smriti Mandhana, at mid on, missed a fairly straightforward run out chance – with the stumps right in front of her, the underarm throw missed the mark with the batter well short of her crease; and what should have been a tied match followed by a Super Over, ended up going England's way. 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗔 𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛!! 🤯 Radha Yadav takes a stunning catch to dismiss Amy Jones and fuel India's winning chase! 🌟 Watch #ENGWvINDW 5️⃣th T20I Highlights on #SonyLIV 📲 — Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) July 12, 2025 Right through her comeback series, Shafali Verma was threatening in flashes at the top of the order. She showed glimpses of what she offers to this Indian team but never quite kicked on for a big score. In the final match of her tour (she is not a part of the ODI setup as things stand) she ensured the selectors and management will have some thinking to do ahead of the 50-over World Cup team selection. Her knock of 75 off 41 balls, with 13 fours and a six, was a reminder of the firepower she possesses when in the zone, perhaps the only batter in the current Indian set-up with the ability to strike at this rate and throw the opponents' off their plans. Despite losing the wickets of Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodriigues in the powerplay, Shafali ensured India got to a decent total on a pitch where the three England spinners extracted some help. But she barely got any support from the other end, apart from a late 16-ball 24 by Richa Ghosh. The target of 168 was made to appear well below par by Sophia Dunkley and Danni Wyatt-Hodge, the latter receiving a reprieve early from young Sree Charani, who dropped a catch at short fine leg early in the innings. She'd go on to drop another sitter late in a match in what was a tough night on the field. The English openers put on 101 in just over 10 overs, before India started to chip away at the wickets column that kept the required rate in a tricky zone. Tammy Beaumont, the stand-in skipper, released some of the pressure with a superb cameo of 30 off 20 balls, but an otherwise expensive Arundhati struck first ball of the last over to send her back. Then came the stunner from Radha at deep midwicket, when Amy Jones mishit a slog. Arguably the best Indian fielder currently, Radha made good distance running forward but still had to put in a full length dive to complete the catch. They came. They saw. They conquered the series! 🐯🏆 Watch #ENGWvINDW 5️⃣th T20I Highlights on #SonyLIV 📲 — Sony LIV (@SonyLIV) July 12, 2025 Vinayakk Mohanarangan is Senior Assistant Editor and is based in New Delhi. ... Read More
